Helping Patients And Families Cope With Alzheimer’s

By Jan Howard

In nine out of ten cases, it is three to five years after its onset that a person will know he or she has Alzheimer’s disease.

“When things become noticeable, the person has already had it for awhile,” said Carlea A. Moffa, RN, community outreach coordinator of Home Instead Senior Care of Bethel. Ms Moffa spoke about Alzheimer’s symptoms and care and about Home Instead during a seminar October 23 at the Newtown Senior Center.

Ms Moffa explained that her agency works closely with the Alzheimer’s Association in providing nonmedical care for people with Alzheimer’s.

Being a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient can be very stressful, she noted. If a person is caring for someone with memory loss, there are things they need to know, she said. People with Alzheimer’s misplace things.

“We all do that, so don’t fret. It doesn’t mean anything,” she said, noting that eventually people remember where they put their car keys or glasses. People with Alzheimer’s don’t remember they lost their keys.

“That’s the difference,” she said.

Their checkbook may not be working out, and they cannot figure out why they cannot do it, she said.

“There is an inability to read and make sense of letters and numbers. It doesn’t produce the same image in the brain,” Ms Moffa said. “They may use words to substitute for what they want to say. Simple tasks become impossible.”

Some people get depressed, Ms Moffa said. “This can cause confusion.” Depression, however, can sometimes be caused by medications. There are illnesses that cause mental confusion. The problem may not be Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s is a slow, progressive disease, she explained. “There is no known cause and no cure. It involves the loss of thinking, judgment, and memory.”

Dementia is the loss in memory process, and there are many types of dementia. Alzheimer’s is a specific kind of dementia, she said. If Alzheimer’s is suspected, get a diagnosis early, Ms Moffa recommended.

“The family needs to get instruction and education regarding behavioral changes,” she said. “It’s a sad illness; it takes away the life you have and once had. As we get older, we have our memories. With Alzheimer’s patients, it all goes away.

“They may forget to swallow or eat altogether.”

An Alzheimer’s patient can become very angry, Ms Moffa said. “Their brain is not functioning. They are not thinking logically.”

She noted that many institutions that take care of Alzheimer’s patients take mirrors down. “They think they are still the way they used to be. They think of themselves as younger. If they looked in a mirror, it would upset them.

“They become paranoid. Even if something’s not true, they believe it’s true.” An Alzheimer’s patient may believe her car has been stolen, even though it had been sold two years before. They do not remember. “They are not aware of reality.”

Alzheimer’s patients wander, she said. It can be during the day or night. “They have no conception of time. You often hear of people being lost.”

Darkness increases an Alzheimer’s patient’s agitation, Ms Moffa said. A person can become more confused at that time.

The Alzheimer’s Association offers a program, Safe Return, that is a community-based nationwide identification, support, and registration program. For a $40 fee, the care-giving family or person responsible receives a registration form to complete and return with the patient’s vital statistics and a photo and information about the primary contact or caregiver.

“It’s worth it for keeping someone safe,” Ms Moffa said.

The family receives an engraved identification bracelet or necklace that “once it is snapped on, it doesn’t come off easily,” she said. It contains an ID number that helps officials identify the person and bring them safely home.

If a registrant is missing, Safe Return can fax the person’s information and photo to the local law enforcement department.

She also emphasized the need for caregivers to take care of themselves, to make sure someone gives them needed support so they can take some time for themselves. Home Instead Senior Care can provide temporary assistance for those family members who need respite services, among other services. It cannot replace professional nursing care when it is required.

Ms Moffa explained that Home Instead Senior Care of Bethel provides nonmedical care. It can help individuals or couples who prefer to remain at home and can manage their physical needs, but require assistance with light housework or other needs.

She said Home Instead can help people who are incapacitated, who have been hospitalized but need help once they are home, or who are unable to do all the things they were once able to do because of poor eyesight or other health-related problems. It can provide short-term or long-term services.

The company assists clients in nursing homes or assisted living complexes as well as in private homes, she said. The services are paid for mostly through private pay. Long-term care insurance may help pay for some of these services, she noted.

Home Instead Senior Care caregivers are insured and bonded. Background checks are completed on all employees.

“Our clients may have some medical compromise,” she said. Because of that, the company makes sure that its caregivers are given all the information they need to know in providing services for clients. Prior to beginning care for a client, an assessment is made.

“We talk to the client and the family to get information about what we’d need to do,” Ms Moffa said. “A person may need help only a couple of days a week.”

 Duties that Home Instead Senior Care employees perform include laundry, vacuuming, organizing closets, meal planning and preparation, and other household needs. They also help with errands, such as picking up prescriptions or dry cleaning and doing grocery shopping. They also provide companionship by visiting the client, providing transportation to visit family and friends, or escorting the client to appointments or to a lecture or concert.

 “Whatever you need to be done,” Ms Moffa said. “We do all the little things that make life normal. We can take you shopping and bring you home,” she said. “We’re flexible.”

There is a minimum of a three-hour visit, Ms Moffa said. “If you only need us for that, we can do that. Whatever works for you.”